The Game
by merick
Summary: A vignette from the case files of Agent Phil Coulson. When past and present come together and are shaken about, Agent Coulson gets a chance to explore who he is outside the Game.


The surface I'm lying on is cold and hard, and is most certainly not my bed, or the billet on the plane. For a moment or two I'm not sure where I am or how I've gotten here. I hold my breath for a few counts, listening before I open my eyes, before I let anyone know that I am conscious, because if there is one thing I am quite certain of in the midst of mostly uncertainty, it is that the situation I find myself in is not of my choosing. Close by me I hear someone else breathing slowly, not quite asleep like me, and likely a second victim of whatever or whoever has abducted me. I've nothing to lose I figure, so I open my eyes slowly and take stock of my surroundings without moving my head.

Wherever it is that I am it's dimly lit, but not wholly dark and I can make out the other crumpled form within my line of sight. She is facing me, her hair is long, and nearly white, draped over her shoulders and pooling on the ground, it contrasts well against the black S.H.I.E.L.D. skin suit, preferred by so many of the operatives. Things start coming back to me as her eyes begin to flutter. I sit myself up, it isn't as easy as it normally is, my limbs feel heavy, and I take it slowly because I find that my head swims if I move too quickly. Bracing myself against what I quickly discover is a rock wall I take a few deep breaths and then take stock of our situation.

We are at the bottom of some type of natural cavern, not unlike a cenote, except for the lack of water, and the obvious cold in the air, so unlike the more tropical sacred spaces. (Perhaps that wasn't the best choice in descriptors?) Far above my head, and beyond my reach and climbing abilities (as I survey the walls of craggy rock, and soil), there is some type of opening to the sky above; night is falling. The fading sunlight is quite orange, and I am reminded of an old saying; 'red sky at night, sailor's delight, red sky at morning, sailor take warning.' I'm not entirely sure why this pops into my head, hopefully it portends a favorable outcome to the situation, even if neither of us are sailors.

"Miss Sinclair? Danny? Are you alright?" I half whispered to my companion in the underground space.

"Hell." Came the mumbled response.

"Apparently so." I mused to myself as I watched her sit up as awkwardly as I had, holding her head in both hands.

"Where are we Phillip?" She slowly opened her eyes; I could just make out the pain behind that action as she grit her teeth together.

"The bottom of some kind of pit I think."

"And how did we get here?"

"Of that I am not certain. I remember being in that clean lab, and not much after that."

"We must have been drugged." She observed.

"So it would seem. With doses timed to wake us up at about the same time." Which to me implied a more sinister organization than happenstance abduction.

"But why not just kill us, why leave us here? To what end?" She asked me, drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging them as she glanced around.

"To feed off each other's terror of being abandoned in a pit to die?" I offered, while continuing my own survey of the cavern.

"Seriously?" The piercing pale blue of her eyes fixed me in a glare.

"No, I expect the team will find us eventually."

"I see you still haven't lost your sense of humor Phillip."

"I try." I offered with a closed lip smile. (I believe it has been called wry behind my back). "But on a serious note, are you okay?"

"Just cold I think."

I watched her stand and test out moving her limbs, her wrists, her neck. She was graceful, always had been. She ran her fingers through the length of her hair, twisting it into a loose spiral as she tilted her head upwards to look through the same opening I had seen earlier.

"It's going to get colder pretty quickly." She observed.

"I believe so." I answered.

"How is it you always stay so calm Phillip?" Apparently my expression, or intonation wasn't particularly comforting.

"Years of practice." Deadpan humor was about all I had to offer, I knew our situation was serious, but there was nothing to be gained in panicking.

She sat down with a bit of a thump right beside me, wrapping her arms around her knees again.

"This isn't as much fun as that mission in Canada."

"Nearly as cold." I remembered that pebbled beach, surrounded nearly completely by mountains, and the dive into that glacier water searching for a World War II bomber that had been ditched with a very important cargo.

"But at least it was better once we got out of those dry suits. I remember a picnic of sorts while we waited for the recovery team to come and get the tagged missile from the bottom of that lake." She continued the memories for me.

"Lake Louise." Covering that mission up had been one of my first challenges as a lead field agent.

"Yes, that was the lake." She nodded her head and hugged herself a little harder, I could see she was getting colder, so I shuffled a little closer to her. She leaned into my shoulder.

"Do you remember when the most dangerous thing we had to deal with was a lost nuke Phillip?"

"Yes, I do." I answered with a sigh.

"Seems like a lifetime ago."

"It does."

"And now we have alien tech and demi-gods and interdimensional armies attacking New York. And we have this place. Wherever 'this place' is." She gestured around with one hand and a turn of her head.

"I think we are somewhere near the arctic-circle, maybe Northern Canada, or Greenland?"

"Weren't we just in the States?"

"I don't know about 'just' but we were in Washington. That's the last thing I remember."

"Some body guard I made." She was referring to the task for which I had sought her out; threats against my life, which Director Fury took seriously enough to warrant extra personnel.

"I'm still alive aren't I?" I suppose I was using dry humor to try and make light of our current situation for her sake. After all, I had brought her in.

"But for how long?"

"Oh I intend to live for a great many more years, too much work to do. Besides, if I can survive an Asgardian lance to the heart, I can certainly survive a little frostbite. And so can you." I don't know if I was having the desired effect because Danny seemed quite introspective just then, and perhaps just a little angry at the situation we found ourselves in. She, not unlike me, needed to understand a situation in order to feel in control of it, and there was precious little control to be had just then.

"Why did you even ask for me Phillip?"

"Because I knew I could trust you."

"It's been years since I've even been in the field."

"Hasn't dulled you a bit."

"Enough to let someone get the drop on us, and drug us, and leave us here."

"They got the drop on me too Danny."

"I have to figure out how to get out of here."

She moved away from me, and stood up again, and like a caged tiger, walked around the perimeter of the cavern we appeared to be stuck at the bottom of. It was getting darker, and the sunset I had noticed earlier was barely casting any shadows anymore. It made the rocks look even more jagged and impossible to climb, even if our fingers were not going numb. (I assume that hers were as cold as mine). She was running her hands over the face of the stone, her head cast upwards, I could almost imagine that I could see her vibrating with the anxiety that was building in her muscles.

"I am not going to die down here." She hissed to the night sky.

"Of course you aren't. But Danny, just come back and sit down, help will be coming."

"We don't even know how many days we've been here."

I ran my hand over my face.

"Not long, I haven't got any beard growth."

"Well there's an interesting picture, Phil Coulson with a beard." She returned to my side and sat down again, just into a natural little niche where we'd been left; possibly so no one could easily see us if they looked down into the hole. We'd been placed pretty carefully, and as Danny had remarked, whoever had done it had not meant to kill us outright. While I had been joking with Danny about the terror of dying alone, it was quite possible that our captors intended to come back for us at some point. I just hoped that the rest of my team beat them to that.

"I don't think I'd like you with a beard." She laughed once.

"Well with any luck we'll be out of here before you have to. And why wouldn't I look good with a beard by the way?"

"I'd miss seeing your smile." She let her head rest on my shoulder again and wrapped a hand over my waist. "You have a beautiful smile."

"Just rest Danny. I'll let you know if anything happens." She apparently didn't want to as she kept talking, but I understood that it was her way of dealing with her nerves and feeling of impotence in having to wait for rescue.

"That day, out by the lake, it was really sunny, remember?" Her thoughts returned to Lake Louise, and I was happy to indulge the distraction.

"I do. It was November, but the ice hadn't formed yet. It was an odd winter for that part of the country." Indeed it had been, the ice normally formed over that lake by October, staying until March or April most years. So, despite the fact that it was ski season there, we mostly had had the lake to ourselves, and it had been easy to find a small beach in the shadow of the Fairview Mountain to set up our gear and tent, and change into the bulky dry suits we needed to dive without freezing. We looked just like most other tourists, backpacks slung on, going for a hike. The biggest difference being the satellite phones in our packs, and the sidearms strapped to our bodies, along with the drysuits and nitrox tanks, concealed. Satellites had shown us the approximate location of the wreck we had been hunting for, and the absence of radioactive signatures, but only the human eye could find the cargo and tag it.

The dive hadn't been terribly long, it had taken more time to get into and out of the suits and tanks as I recalled. Then we waited inside the small tent, guarding our treasure until the full team arrived with their zodiac, after the sun had set and nature provided the most effective concealment. It wouldn't have done any good to arouse the suspicions of our allies. As Danny had remembered we had shared a meal of sandwiches and cocoa, some conversation, and a little more as the sun set, especially after we had retired to the old railway hotel on the lakeshore. The memories of that room, small, but elegantly appointed, put a smile on my face, not that Danny could see it, it had grown quite dark by then, except for a scant few stars in the black sky above us and the reflection of the moon on the pale veins on the rock walls (whose phase I couldn't determine from our current position).

"I'm cold Phillip." She was starting to tremble, and her previous ferocious voice was dwindling into something quiet.

"Just stay with me Danny."

"We've had some fun haven't we Phillip?"

"And we'll have more."

"Promises, promises." She leaned into me a little more. Nearly absentmindedly I pulled her closer to me.

"Wait, I think I hear something." My body stiffened back into my working persona, not that it had ever completely relaxed, I was unsure of what I had heard and what it meant.

"Agent Coulson?" It was a faint call but I recognized it; Ward.

"I believe our rescuers have finally arrived Danny." I gave her a little shake.

"About bloody time." Her teeth were chattering, but even so I stood up and moved into the clearing.

"Down here!" I called out.

"Well how the hell did you end up down there Agent Coulson?" Ward's face, clad in an enviable parka peered over the edge, high powered flashlight sweeping downwards.

"I'm not completely certain." I shielded my eyes from the powerful beam.

"Is Miss Sinclair with you?"

"I am." She joined me looking upwards.

"Good. Are you both okay?"

"Just cold."

"I think it's going to take about an hour to get a winch and harnesses out here." He spoke into his walkie (or the S.H.I.E.L.D. equivalent of a walkie), and issued some orders. It crackled back, but I didn't hear the answer. I missed the lifeline. Ward looked back over the edge.

"It's coming by Helo. In the meanwhile I'll see what I can get for you two. Hold tight." He disappeared, his presence replaced by a little body and a quick wave, then the release and a low hum and the whirring of one of Fitz-Simmons' little bots. It negotiated its way down the shaft slowly, spinning, checking out the terrain I expected. Equipped with an infrared light source it was not so blinding as the flashlight and I was able to see that the bot had an ear bud attached. I retrieved it and plugged it into my ear. I actually felt a little more complete with that tether to my unit.

"Thanks." I waved off the little flying machine; Simmons was going to review the walls of the cavern no doubt, to ascertain the best method for extracting us.

"How did they find us Phillip?"

"Transdermal implant."

"You have a G-G-GPS in you? I don't have a G-GPS in me." It was hard for her to come across as annoyed with her teeth chattering.

"Sorry, it's a new thing."

"You could have said something."

"I didn't want to count on it."

"Still."

"Danny you're cold, it isn't worth arguing about, come here." I held out my arms. "We need to stay warm." Fortunately she saw the wisdom in my gesture and came over to me. I guided her down to the ground again, and pulled her shivering body into my arms.

"You have few hairs out of place." I reached over to tuck some errant strands back behind her ear, smiling at her, trying to take her mind off the cold.

"Yeah, you have a smudge on your face too."

And something happened then, like time just froze, which I know is a terrible analogy considering that frostbite was probably setting in, but it was as though I was watching her, and feeling her, and reacting to her without my logical control, unaware of anything around us.

I saw her bring her fingertips to my skin, ostensibly to wipe away the dirt, and I felt her thumb brush over my lips, very, very slowly. I looked into those pale eyes, which had fixed on mine, somehow able to see their intensity despite the dark. I felt my body leaning into hers and knew she was prepared to meet me: until my new earpiece cracked to life.

"Incoming!" My head snapped away from Danny as a parcel hit the ground only a few feet from us with a 'woomp'. I looked up to see Ward again. I couldn't make out the smile, but I'm certain he had one, not that he could have possibly had any idea what he had just interrupted.

"I found some thermal blankets in the emergency kit in the rover, hopefully they help till we can get you topside!" He called down.

"Thanks!' I yelled back upwards, not completely convinced that I was thankful. But, I did unwrap the foil sheets and draped one around Danny and then a second around my shoulders, folding her 'leftover-like' form against me again, holding onto her very closely.

"It won't be long now." I whispered into her ear, laying a very small kiss on the top of her head, and a silent little curse for Ward's timing, as nice as the blankets were.

ooOOoo

I knocked on the pocket door to my office cum suite on the plane. Receiving no answer I opened it enough to peer in, and seeing the bathroom door closed ascertained that Danny must still have been trying to wash up and warm up. I entered, closing the panel behind myself and laid down my case on the small table in front of the two-seater couch.

"Danny?" I called out.

I could hear the water running so I made myself comfortable within her line of sight should she open the door, and waited on her patiently.

The rescue had been fairly textbook, two climbing harnesses, a few more wrinkles in my suit and we were hoisted to freedom. FitzSimmons left a still camera in place (concealed) at the site just to monitor if our so far unknown captors returned for us, and we had been bustled into the Helo for the quick trip back to the plane; the rest of the crew taking the rover back. So we had beaten them by a good hour, which had left some time for Danny and I to change and wash.

Of course I had given her my suite, I used the main floor washroom, after retrieving a clean suit, tie and shirt, and had restored myself to propriety prior to fixing us something to eat. I still had a number of questions on my mind; not the least of which being who had dropped us in Greenland (we'd been informed by the pilot), and to what purpose. I was looking forward to speaking with my remaining team at length about that. I was also concerned for Danny, who I had brought back into the fold as a complement to May, who was still unsure about her own combat role (and was more of an asset when it came to watching Sky). People trying to steal nano-tech were not a new thing, but people taking out S.H.I.E.L.D. agents while doing it was. We had obviously been expected in that lab and I was beginning to wonder if the clues that had led us there had been an elaborate fabrication which took my team out of the game for two days (as it had turned out).

I was still pondering these mysteries when the bathroom door slid open and Danny emerged in a Navy Blue S.H.I.E.L.D. training suit. (We didn't carry much in terms of spare clothing on the plane and she hadn't had her own billet set up yet as we had been in DC when our adventure had started).

"How did you get in here?" She asked, toweling off damp hair.

"My plane."

"Ah ha."

"Sorry we aren't equipped with a lot of hot water and proper showers here."

"No worries Phillip, I made do. I almost feel warm again."

"Well maybe I can help out with that?"

"And just what did you have in mind?" She sat down beside me on the couch with a smile.

I reached forward to the case I had brought in and pulled out a plaid thermos, setting it down on the table, followed by some sandwiches. She began to laugh.

"How on earth? No, this couldn't be that same thermos from Lake Louise could it?"

"No, it isn't but it is an authentic, vintage American Thermos."

"You always did like to collect those kind of Americana antiques as I recall."

I reached forward to unscrew the large red cup that served as a cap for the thing. It had been one of the easier items in my collection to find. E-Bay was such a helpful resource at times. I poured out the hot chocolate and offered it to her.

"You really are a romantic at heart aren't you Phillip? Who else would have remembered something so silly as a thermos of hot chocolate?"

"I don't think it's silly." And I didn't think that my memories of our time together were silly either.

"Thank you." She took a careful sip.

"I made it myself."

"I had no doubt of that." She licked the chocolate mustache off her upper lip with a grin and offered the cup back to me.

"I made sandwiches too."

"You really are a darling Phillip."

"Just don't tell the others, I prefer to maintain my pitbull persona in front of them, it wouldn't do well to have them think I'd gone soft." She began to laugh and it was the most honest, happy sound I had heard for a great long while, it made me laugh as well.

"I have missed you Phillip."

"I've missed you too Danny. We make a good team."

We sat and enjoyed hot chocolate and sandwiches for a few minutes in happy silence, sharing the memory of that first picnic.

"What happens now Phillip?"

And there was a loaded question if ever I had heard one. (At least as far as my mind was travelling).

"We'll head back to the States, debrief," (I was not completely unaware of the twisted up little smile she tried to hide behind the red plastic hot chocolate mug), "and get back to work I guess."

"And I go back to my porch swing?"

"I hear they can be rather lonely."

"Oh, I have Sebastian to keep me company."

"Sebastian? Do I have competition?"

"You remember Sebastian don't you? Lots of fur, big paws? Well, they don't look quite so big now that he's grown into them."

"You still have him?" I remembered that mutt that had wandered across our paths in Oregon, part St. Bernard certainly, paws that looked like snowshoes on a ball of scraggly fur.

"He isn't as active as he used to be."

I calculated in my head that he must have been close to fourteen by then.

"He spends a lot of time on the porch or on the rug in front of the fire, he doesn't run around the yard so much, so the neighborhood squirrels are much safer."

I remembered Danny's house, an old farmhouse with a wide front porch on a couple of acres. It had belonged to her parents and had passed to her. I could just picture that dog flopped out in front of the door, raising his head, or now maybe just an ear to approaching traffic on the graveled driveway.

"He always did like you Phillip. Maybe you could stop by and see him some time?"

I nodded, I really wasn't sure what else to say just then, my mind was going a million miles a minute with possibilities and it was nearly a relief to hear May's voice in my ear piece telling me that we were almost ready for takeoff. I related this to Danny.

"Well I guess I should leave you be then, give you back your office all." She stood up.

"You can stay if you want." I offered.

"No, I'll just find a couch down on the main level to lay out on, I'm sure the director will be wanting to hear from you, and I don't want to interrupt. You need some rest too I imagine."

I wanted to say 'stay' and 'don't go, I enjoy your company more than you can imagine', but I didn't, I just sort of nodded mutely, keeping my business face on. I really had no idea what I should do, and that is an unusual situation to find myself in if I can be frank? She waved at me with a sad little smile and slipped out. I cursed inwardly and then took a deep breath and got back to work.

ooOOoo

I knocked and paused a moment before I opened the door between our two hotel rooms. I was a little surprised that she had left it unlocked from her side, though truthfully, not all that unhappy. We'd arrived back in DC fairly early in the morning and I'd contacted the hotel she'd been staying in prior to our adventure, and arranged for her room to be prepared for her (and for one for myself). As gracious as she had been about the accommodations on the plane I knew that the cold from that cavern wasn't truly going to be out of her body until she could immerse herself into hot water and have a proper hot meal.

"Danny?" The lights were dim, she only had a beside lamp fully illuminated, and the television was off. Not that I couldn't see her.

She turned around slowly from where she had curled herself into a chair, her feet tucked underneath her body, ignoring the footstool completely. A small smile crossed her lips.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked quietly, unwilling to disturb the silence of the space any more than I already had.

"I'm finally warm if that's what you mean, and I've had a chance to sleep a little."

"May I sit?" I motioned to the ottoman.

"Of course Phillip, you don't need to ask." I unbuttoned my jacket and sat, she spun a quarter turn to put her feet on the floor (which I noted were bare beyond the hem of the white hotel robe she wore), to face me. "I suppose you're here to tell me that S.H.I.E.L.D. is sending me home?"

"You don't have to go Danny."

"You offering me a job Phillip?"

"There's always a place for you."

"With your team."

"You know you'll miss the game."

"That isn't what I'm afraid of missing."

"What aren't you telling me Danny?"

Her sigh was very deep and she seemed so sad.

"Can we have this one night Phillip? Without threat? Without the game? Or do we walk away from each other once again?"

"Danny?" I was confused, sort of confused, as my brain kicked into a different gear.

"I want you to kiss me Phillip." She said it quietly, not even making eye contact with me, as if she was embarrassed by the request. I let the words rest for a heartbeat or two, and then I leaned over towards her and put my fingers underneath her chin, tipping it upwards.

"I think I would really like that."

Her eyes were glossy as they stared into mine and it seemed as though she drifted towards me at the same time as I moved towards her, our mouths meeting almost in the middle, lips pressing together softly. It seemed that I had never completely forgotten the feeling of her because the memories of our previous encounters encroached on my whole body leaving me feeling just a little breathless and weak. I rocked back and took a breath, scanning her face for any clue of what I should do next. What I found was a smile and a slight blush on her cheeks so I reached for her, wrapping my hand around the side of her face, curling around her neck carefully and kissed her again. It was Danny who deepened the kiss, parting my lips and tasting me; which only made my knees feel just a little bit weaker.

"Do you ever take that jacket off Phillip?" She whispered.

"Not often I suppose, unless I know I'm in for the night."

"Please, take off your jacket." For that shy, pleading smile I would have done just about anything. I stood and she followed the motion, stepping around the ottoman to face me. First my right arm, then my left and I folded the dark fabric in half, laying it down on the back of the chair she had just vacated. For good measure, and earning another smile, I loosened my tie as well. I wasn't quite certain where it ended up as she pulled at the free end, and took it from my grasp.

Still wearing my shoulder holster didn't feel particularly romantic so I slipped the gun from its tan leather holster under my left arm, which necessitated taking my eyes away from her for a moment, not that I probably couldn't have done it with my eyes closed (muscle memory and all), but just then it didn't seem like such a good idea with a loaded firearm, safety on or not. When I looked up she had unlooped the ties on that white terry robe and the sides had fallen apart offering me a tantalizing view and shadows that I was prepared (or anxious) to explore at length. I prided myself in not losing complete control of my visual cues so that I didn't look like a college student on my first date. I did, however, have to draw in a steady breath before I felt as though I could wiggle free of the fitted loops on that holster. That joined my jacket somewhere on or near the ottoman, I was too concerned with the outstretched hand that she offered, and the few steps back towards the king-sized bed, and thick white down coverlet.

We didn't speak again, there was no need, it had been bred into the both of us from the moment we had joined the game, moments like these were stolen, sometimes brief, and though I hated to use the word, covert. Feelings were and are a liability in our line of work, and even if you had them, you expressed them only in private and only with the utmost trust. Such was the trust I had with her.

Her nimble fingers, (trembling just a little I noted), started at the bottom of my white shirt mine at the top and we met in the middle, the tailored silk slipping from my shoulders with more ease than the other parts of my wardrobe. Emboldened I pushed the robe off her shoulders and watched it fall, and watched her, not flinching, not trembling, only asking for me with every sway of her body. She was beautiful.

Supine on the thick duvet she looked every part the angel nestled in a cloud, her white hair as a halo her blue eyes gems, and I almost felt unworthy of her, chest scarred, hands calloused, soul still a little broken. But I went to her anyways, kicking away my shoes, coming to cover her body, fixated by her eyes. Perhaps she could see my reticence, the hesitation in my hands because she covered them with her own, and guided them to her body, begging with the arch of her neck for another kiss, and for so much more. When I bent my head to comply she moved her hands, her desires well understood as she pushed at the waist of my trousers, and I found myself as vulnerable as her.

Her mouth was hot but the touch of her skin cool, and I wondered if I shouldn't turn up the plastic wall thermostat. Her arms around my back, holding me to her gave me my answer. I bent my head to her neck and began to kiss her as her hands kneaded the muscles of my back, directing the movements of my shoulders in a subtle way, coaxing me towards the places she wanted my attentions.

My mouth raised delicate goose flesh, her body responding, not with sound but with elegant movements, and all that could be heard in the room were our metered breaths and the shifting of the bedclothes beneath us as I took my fill of her. Fingers brushed the sides of her breasts, preparing the way for my mouth; her hips arched beneath me and fed the fire, long simmering in my blood. I pushed against her so that she would understand my mute hunger for her, her hands drifted lower. My needs began to ache and she knew. I looked down at her, my angel, her lips parted her eyes wide and as I bent to kiss her, her hands angled downwards forcing me to meet her hips, and to move deeper. The moan was silent from the both of us as I entered her and she came to me, locked together in a dance we both desired so deeply. It was passion that took her mouth, passion that ground our lips together, passion built with hands and hips until we could barely breathe.

I could not keep my eyes open, or my lips together as I gave myself to her. I only felt a powerful wave run the length of my body, with her hands keeping me from flying apart. Collapsing beside her I pulled her now flush body into my arms and clutched her with every ounce of strength I had left at my disposal. It was she who kissed my face as I let myself relax into the duvet. When she shivered I tried to maneuver the blanket out from underneath our spent bodies to cover her, it was awkward, but all she did was smile at my attempts and then nestle herself in beside me again, the feel of her naked body against mine imposing a sense of calm while at the same time exciting me again. A soft hand against my cheek turned my eyes to meet hers again, and she spoke the only word of the night in a low, tentative whisper.

"Stay."

I answered with a hungry kiss, forcing my tongue into her mouth, grinding against her nearly to the point of pain. But it was her strong arms that pushed me to my back, and her long legs that swung over my hips. I gave any semblance of control over to her gladly. At first she was gentle but focused in her movements, taking me within herself again, rocking against me as she drew her fingertips over the definition of the musculature on my chest, resting them against the scar. Her eyes glazed over again, the tears pooling over the lower lids in danger of cascading down her cheeks. I reached up both hands to wipe them away with my thumbs, coaxing her face down towards mine as I arched up to kiss her softly. The tears wet my cheeks just as they wet hers, or perhaps those were my own. It didn't matter, she focused her body's movements and I took selfish pleasure in watching her coming to her peak as she brought me to my second one with the rolling of her body, pulling everything from my senses.

For one night I let everything go.

ooOOoo

I remember the last thing she said to me, as she climbed into the back of the black SUV.

"You should come out and see Sebastian some time." She said it quietly, no one else could have heard her. I heard that invitation in my head over and over in private moments for weeks.

I found myself driving down a long graveled driveway, three weeks after our parting, it had been longer than I'd intended, but as quickly as I could find the excuse to make the journey. The truth was, I had a very good reason for going out, and that reason was tucked in a manila envelope, folded into the pocket of my dark blue suit jacket. I slowed the car down so that Lola wouldn't suffer any damage to her grill or undercarriage from disturbed rocks. Danny's house was easily visible from the road, she didn't have an arbor of trees or hedges to conceal the place; which worked to her advantage, no place for anyone to hide.

I took note of the rose bushes that were growing in front of the porch, climbers strung up against one of the posts, a deep red and contrasting white. I was reminded of her hair, and a little of the story of Rose Red and Snow White. Unlike that story though it wasn't a bear curled up on her hearth (or in front of her door in this case) but a huge Saint Bernard / something cross who barely lifted his head as I pulled my car up to the cottage and parked it.

"Hello Sebastian." I reached down to scratch his head as I came up the two steps of her white porch. Sebs raised his head a little, pushed it into my hand to take advantage of the attention, and then went back to his nap in the sun. I knocked on the frame of the screen door, but I knew that if Danny was home that she already knew I was there. She waited a few counts before opening the door for me. It was worth the wait.

She was in a pair of jeans and a yoga top, her hair done up in a loose chignon at the base of her neck, with a few strands loose. There was color in her cheeks and hardly any makeup, not that she needed it to look bright and beautiful. I could see that she was holding back the idea of being happy to see me, at least I hoped she was holding it back.

"Hello Danny, may I come in?"

"Good to see you too Phillip."

"Sorry, it is good to see you, and Sebastian. Is this a bad time?"

"I want to say 'it depends on what brings you here Phillip', but I can't." A smile bloomed across her face, more beautiful than the roses, "It is good to see you again." She stepped back from the screen and gestured with her hand that I should come in.

I'd never been in her home before; there'd never really been an occasion to do so. We did our jobs, but when missions ended we didn't take souvenirs home with us. (Well, unless you counted Sebastian). While lives and loves sometimes intertwined, most of us recognized the need for a place to retreat too, where the game was left behind as much as you could. (I won't start to go on about nightmares and post-traumatic stress, it would take up too many pages). So, possibly I was making the wrong choice in coming to her there, instead of asking her to come to meet me. But it seemed the right thing to do, having been invited, and counting myself as a little more than an SO or CO. The manila envelope seemed just a little heavier in my breast pocket as I surveyed her sanctum. It wasn't the furniture, or the quilts drawn over corners of couches, or even the stone fireplace, it was the feel of the place, so unlike the agent, but so like the woman; if that can even be said. It was difficult to think of disturbing it in any way. But knowing her as I did, I knew she would want the information I had with me.

"Can I offer you some coffee?"

"Thank you." Unbuttoning my jacket I sat at the kitchen table, which was really the only table, and pulled out the envelope. She saw it, but ignored it until she'd poured out the coffee and brought the cups and a little plate of cookies to the table.

"I guess it couldn't have just been pleasure." She mused, more for herself than me. I felt like apologizing again. Instead I took a drink; the coffee was very good.

"It's important, I thought you would want to know."

She took a deep draw off her coffee and an even deeper sigh then nodded at me, my tacit permission to begin the story.

"I thought you would want to see them." I pushed the envelope, still sealed, across the table to her.

"Who?"

"The people who put us in that pit."

I thought she might have paused for just an instant before picking up the envelope, but as her eyes steeled over I knew that nothing was ever going to undermine her confidence. She slit it open with a fingertip and teased out the 8 x 10 photos.

"Who are they?" She stared into the flat eyes as if they could see her.

"Alexander Kinsey and Mateo Rossen."

"How did you find them?"

"The cameras that Fitz-Simmons left in Greenland broadcast back these pictures five days after we'd been rescued."

"Five days? They'd intended for us to die." Her cadence didn't change, but the heft of her shoulders did.

"So it would seem. They seemed agitated when they emerged from the empty cavern."

"Facial recognition software then?" She had already moved on.

"It took a few days. Had to scan the entire world. But we got some good running shots of them from the camera."

"I'd like to see the video."

"It's waiting for you back at the office."

"I see." She nodded, taking another drink of coffee remaining silent, though deep in thought for a few moments. I helped myself to a cookie; chocolate chip, a classic. Standing up she took her now empty cup to the sink and stared out the back window for a while. I stood as well, but didn't join her. I knew she had a decision to make, maybe more than one, and so did I.

"So, you're here to tell me that S.H.I.E.L.D. is going to send a car for me in the morning then I guess Phillip?"

"Not exactly." I took a deep breath, stepping into the abyss as I saw it just then. "I was hoping that you'd ride back with me in the morning."

Her shoulders set stiffly for a moment, the only clue to her being at all startled by my answer. I watched her set the cup down very deliberately on the counter, turning back to me slowly. What she saw when her eyes lit on me again gave her pause.

I had taken off my jacket; it was folded carefully over my right arm. I stood very still, wondering what she might make of the gesture. My answer was the tears that began to pool above her lower lids.

"Do I look that bad Danny, I bring you to tears?"

She half laughed, half sobbed as she rushed into my arms, kissing me soundly, nearly knocking me over. I absorbed the force with relief and my own passion. She stole breaths from my lips, parting them with her own desires, tasting me as I wrapped her in my grasp and held her body tightly against mine. Taking only moments apart to draw breath we kissed again, and again, till it was hard to even sort out logical thoughts, at least in my part.

"I should make you dinner or something." She stuttered. I shook my head.

"No, I'll make you dinner. After." She smiled, probably in response to my own. "I really just want you right now." I whispered to her, feeling the shudder run from my chest outwards to my fingertips as I made the desires manifest, and waited for her reply.

"Let me hang up your jacket."

"Okay." I handed it over. She grinned at me, and beckoned with that smile for me to follow. She hung it in the closet of her bedroom; I closed the door behind us.

"You are so beautiful Danny."

This house, her home, was the antithesis of everything we had left behind outside its walls, in the plane, in hotel rooms, in stolen moments. It was her sanctuary, I wanted it to be mine right then, and I was willing to take the risk, to open myself even though I knew very well that it might be the single time that I would be allowed within. I pushed that worry away, letting myself feel and be; just be Phillip Coulson. From behind her I reached for the pins in her chignon, pulling them loose one at a time, combing the strands free to fall down her back, remembering how they had covered me as she had been atop me. The sigh she allowed to escape her lips only made me shudder anew. My hands came to rest on her hips as I drew my fingers through the full white length. I rested them there for only a moment before curling them under the hem of her top, caressing her bare flesh, moving upwards as I pulled her body back into mine. Her hands wrapped over mine, helping to pull the slick fabric free of her, casting it to the floor as she turned slowly in my arms. My shirt joined hers.

Pulling me to the bed she undid my trousers, it was a simple matter to step from them and leave them behind. There was no disguising my desires then.

"You are wearing altogether too many articles of clothing Danny."

"Then we should fix that, shouldn't we Phillip?"

Watching her shimmy from her jeans was the most erotic sight I could have ever imagined, losing the lace was just a bonus.

Her bed was covered with an old patchwork quilt; no hint of the decadent luxury of the five star hotels, but it, and the space around us felt so much better, so much more honest. I bent my head to her as she lay back and began to kiss her, slowly, like feather brushes, moving from her lips to her neck to the swells of her breasts as my hands rested atop her hips, steadying us both. Once again, her hands resting on my back guided me as easily as her words, or perhaps more precisely, her utterances and movements did. She arched pushing her skin closer to my mouth, moaned, drew in stuttered breaths, and kneaded at my flesh, keeping me close to her.

"I need you Phillip." She whispered with a sultry hiss.

I had not realized how much I had missed someone calling me by my name till then. And I knew that I needed her too. Her body was hot and willing, and I made my motions deliberate but determined, taking my fill of every pleasure she would give me, punctuating my physical movements with my own auditory ones. Together we were a symphony in perfect pitch. Where she moved I moved, where I cried out, she did as well, her peak, the look in her eyes, the arch of her back, took me to my own, and bodies collapsed together, glistening, into soft cotton, mouths dedicated to slow kisses as we recovered.

"Thank you." She whispered to me, in one of the lazy breaks between the businesses of our lips. I stroked her cheek with my fingertips.

"Thank you for inviting me into your home."

"I might not let you leave now."

"I think I might like that too."

She began to laugh.

"Will you promise me one thing then?" I asked of her.

"If I can."

"No more tears?"

She nodded.

"No more tears." And she kissed me again.


End file.
